


Visit to the Sealed Grounds

by I_Only_Have_Trash



Series: Wild's Adventures with the Links [2]
Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Gen, Giant Spiders, Wild (Linked Universe)-centric, Wild? cooking? lovely, can be quite bloody, have you heard of our lord and savior sky?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:48:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25171858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Only_Have_Trash/pseuds/I_Only_Have_Trash
Summary: Wild's first destination after being so lovingly dropped near Outset Island.
Series: Wild's Adventures with the Links [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1820317
Comments: 27
Kudos: 504
Collections: The Three Angstketeers





	1. Creamy Heart Soup

**Author's Note:**

> Do you think creamy heart soup tastes good?
> 
> Does it taste fruity? Savory? Milky?

Very shortly after setting back out (the next day, in fact), the group was sent through another portal. Sky was relieved when he met his best friend Groose at the Sealed Grounds. The others took in the scenery. Sure, Outset was lovely and pretty, but this place had its own whimsy. The goddess statue was gigantic, looming over the forest and grounds. 

"You know Zelda was real worried when you up and disappeared like that," Groose grunted. "I, however? I knew you'd be alright." It sounded as if he was bragging about his faith in Sky.

All the guy did was laugh. "I missed you too, Groose. Where _is_ Zelda anyway?"

While the two friends spoke, the others walked around.

Wild found himself next to Wind, who held his pictograph box up to the statue. That was when he realized his Zelda would have wanted to see this place too. If he could, he'd love to bring her here—even if he knew that he’d have to drag her while she was kicking and screaming when it’d be time to go home. Wild unhooked his slate and switched the camera rune on. 

"You can take pictures too?" Wind asked.

Wild nodded, turning the camera on to the boy. Wind posed on cue. A funny face, pulling his cheeks and sticking his tongue out. Wild snorted as he snapped the photo. He showed the screen to Wind who giggled at his own face.

"Okay, now your turn!" Wind readied his pictograph box, pointing its lens to the older boy.

Wild stood thinking of what face to pull, settling on crossing his eyes and poking his tongue out between his molars, lips upturned in a dopey grin. He was met with a blinding flash, which he definitely wasn't expecting. He rubbed his eyes one moment and had a paper photo shoved to him the next. 

Boy, did he look stupid. He pursed his lips in an attempt to stop himself from laughing. But it came out through his nose instead. _Okay. Right. Statue picture for Zelda._

Wild pointed the camera up to the Goddess statue.

"It's getting dark," Time said—mainly to himself. But Twilight and Legend heard him. He turned to the two and asked with a finger propped under his chin: "Isn't it War's turn to cook?"

Legend scoffed. "So we're going to have to suffer through his awful food again?"

"Honestly, none of us can really cook," Twilight looked around the Sealed Grounds. "Doesn't seem like we have much to work with around here anyways. Where's Sky, maybe he knows where a fishing pool is." 

Legend was still interested in the slate Wild carried around. He walked up to the two heroes in blue. "Hey Wild," he called. The newbie turned to see him, along with Wind. "Why don't you show us what's on that thing in your hands?"

Wild pulled the Shiekah Slate to his chest, a small blush creeping along his cheeks. Four heard and ran up to them to see as well. An audience. _Lovely_.

"He can take pictures with it," Wind said. "Show him what you just took!"

He obliged, flipping to the album and tapping on the picture of the goddess statue. Legend rewarded him with an impressed noise. "True-to-life too.” He switched between the real thing and the picture for reference. “What else can it do?"

To this question, Wild discarded a knight's claymore from the slate onto the floor. He shooed the other two boys to back up. Fingers danced on the navy screen until one was able to tap the magnesis rune. He then proceeded to use it on the claymore, pulling it backward, forwards, side-to-side, then dropped it.

He entertained the three with his bomb runes next but didn't detonate them, lest he put everyone in an uproar. 

"So you use that thing quite a lot," Legend observed. Hyrule started to gain interest and walked over to them to see. Wild nodded. "How much magic does it use? And do you just… you know, have a huge supply of it?"

Wild huffed in amusement. Magic? He had elemental stuff, but magic? He shook his head, looking around for Time or Twilight. Once they were spotted, he pointed in their direction.

"Time! Twilight! I think Wild needs you!" Wind called.

The men were about to walk over, but Wild signed the word 'translator' to stop them. They said something to each other, then split up. Time approached the group of four and Twilight went in the opposite direction to find Sky.

"What were you boys talking about?" Time asked.

"Wow, really sounding like an old man there," Legend teased. A grin formed on both of their faces before returning to the question. "I asked Wild how much magic that slate of his uses up since he uses so much."

"Well, kid," Time crossed his arms, "how much?" He gestured with his head that he was paying attention to Wild, ready to translate whatever he signed.

'No magic. It's technology.'

"The hell kind of technology is that??" Legend held out his hand. Wild hesitantly handed the slate to him. Luckily, all the shorter boy did was study its appearance.

"It's Shiekah Technology isn't it?" Time asked. "That symbol there, they make a lot of stuff. But I never saw anything this… advanced." The slate was handed to Wind next.

'From what I understand, technology like this is 10,000 years old—'

"Ten thousand?!" Time repeated with an incredulous look on his face.

'You and Twilight like to repeat me do you?'

"Well, you can’t really blame us when you say things like that!"

Wild shrugged, 'Guess not. We don't really understand it all the way either, but we’re learning.'

"Who's we?" Wind asked, handing the slate to Hyrule.

'Zelda and Me. Mainly Zelda. Before the Calamity, Zelda was researching how this stuff worked.' 

"Calamity?" Four asked.

'Ganon.'

"Oh."

'Now, that it's all over, Zelda went back to researching. But most of her energy has been put towards rebuilding Hyrule.' When Time translated what he signed, he realized what he had just revealed. And dread filled his gut.

Time obviously caught on. "You're rebuilding? What happened? You actually let him destroy Hyrule?"

_Yes_ , he thought, _I did. It's my fault that my home is in ruins._ It was funny actually. He had told himself that it was his fault for letting Ganon take over all this time. But hearing someone else say it, and a hero even…

He lowered his head in shame, breathed then continued. 'It's a very long story. Confusing. To keep it short. Yes. I did. I tried, I promise. But the first time I failed to kill him. But I got a second chance.'

Hyrule returned the slate to its owner. "Well, you defeated him eventually. And Hyrule's in repair! That means it survived! It can't be too bad, right?" He tried to tell Wild that to calm him. But his reassurance fell on deaf ears.

Wild raised his hands, meeting his eyes. 'People died. I lost my friends. There are people today who never got to meet their relatives because they were murdered. Because of—'

"I'm not going to repeat that," Time refused. "I know where you're coming from. But all you can do now is move forward. Whatever you failed to do the last time, you succeeded the second time."

Wild nodded. And Wind's stomach growled. "When are we gonna eat?" The boy asked.

"War is cooking tonight so ready your guts." Time grimaced as he looked off in the direction where Warriors stood. He was crouched over a cooking pot setting the wood underneath it on fire.

'Is he bad at it?'

Time chuckled. "Honestly? We're all bad at cooking. We're heroes, not chefs."

Wild searched through his inventory, finding an arsenal of food items. He lightened up at this, tapping Time on the shoulder.

'I can cook,' he offered, 'Luckily all my materials are preserved in my slate. Anything I have is as fresh as the day I got it.'

"What _can't_ that thing do?" Time asked and sighed. "You seriously can cook? Fine, but if you kill us, I swear."

'I've never been more insulted in my life.' Time followed Wild to the cooking pot, where Warriors was sitting, waiting for Twilight to come back with either Sky or food.

"Wars," Time called, "The kid says he can cook. You wanna let him take your job for the night?"

Warriors stared at Wild, holding the claim under scrutiny. "How are we supposed to trust someone we just met with our food?"

"Come on, Wars, give him a shot. If it turns out bad, it's not like any of us made a decent meal anyway."

Cool, get insulted twice in the same sitting. That was nice.

'I promise I won't poison you.' Wild signed to Time.

"Alright, alright. I see you but it's War's decision."

"Fine, he can take over. But I'm betting 100 rupees he can't make shit." Warriors stood up from his spot at the pot. Wild took his place.

"150 on if he can do better than you." Time was entertaining this? Fine. Wild had cash to spend.

'300 each says I'll knock your socks off.' To this Time coughed. He didn't repeat him until everyone except for Twilight and Sky was around.

"Are you sure you wanna bet 600 rupees?" Time asked. Warriors cackled at this.

"Wait, Time don't talk him out of this."

'Bastards, both of you. You really have no faith in me, do you?' Wild sat at the cooking pot. How much milk did he have? He _was_ planning on cooking again before he was so rudely taken from his time, but never had the chance since. He pulled the Sheikah Slate out. 5 bottles of milk should be fine. 'Those 2 are eating with us too, right?'

"Zelda and Groose? I think so," Time replied. Then perhaps 6 milk bottles.

Half a dozen bottles appeared one at a time. Wild placed them on the floor to his left and searched for more ingredients. 3 hydromelons, 5 voltfruits, 5 big hearty radishes.

"Whoa, is that… what we’re gonna be eating?" Wind asked. Wild didn't answer. Instead, he handed a melon to Time and Warriors each.

'Half it,' he requested. It wasn't like they weren't skilled in hacking and slashing, so when they threw the fruits in the air and sliced them in half, it was no surprise. Wild poured all the milk into the pot first, waiting for it to boil.

"Hey, Wild," Four asked, "While you're cooking, why don't you tell us what you're doing after your fight with Ganon?"

'Before I was transported, I was gathering materials to make towns. It apparently takes a long process to get the rights and people to start actually building. Been 5 months and only 1 town has started construction.'

"So you left heroics to join the construction industry?" Time chuckled.

His comment received a belly laugh from the younger boy. But he shook his head no as he threw in the cut-up fruits. He picked one of the melon slices, using a ladle next to the pot to scoop out the flesh. 'I'm helping out the princess. It's complicated. Maybe it's better if she explained it.'

"Do you really not remember how you got those scars?" Wind asked. Wild contemplated what to tell as he finished with the melons, moving on to the radishes. But his thoughts were interrupted when Legend yelled:

"The fuck have you all been?" Everyone turned to see Sky, Twilight, Zelda, and Groose coming to them.

"Sorry about that," Sky apologized, "We were talking with the water dragon. The cistern is crawling with monsters again, so that's probably where we'll need to go."

"We also got fish, but it seems you're already cooking." Twilight stared over Wild's shoulder as the boy stirred. The heart-shaped radishes caught his eye.

Wild pressed a curled finger under his top lip. 'Bowl,' he signed to Time.

"Oh, is it time to eat already?" Wild shook his head, to everyone's disappointment.

'taste test'

"Oh." He pulled a wooden bowl out of his pouch. Wild only poured a little bit in the bowl, just enough for a proper taste test. Time raised the bowl to his lips and brought it back down with laughter. "I'd have put down that much money too if I could cook like that!" The others brightened up from that.

'Need anything else?' Wild asked.

"No, I think it's good." Time admitted his defeat. Wild rewarded him and Warriors with a smug grin.

"Oh shut up," the latter growled, "I hadn't had it yet. What if the old man's taste buds are just fried?"

"It'd be because of you," Legend grunted. Wild snickered.

Everyone took out their bowls when Wild told them it was ready. Though Groose and Zelda didn't have a bowl, the slate proved once again to have another power, somehow creating dishes out of thin air. When asked about that little trick, Wild answered with the truth —he had no clue.

But in the end, everyone ate happily; some admiring their heart-shaped radishes, others eating without thinking about the food's presentation. Wild left the pot, letting everyone else have whatever seconds they could get their hands on.

He wandered off into the temple. He laid eyes upon a large tree and sat down at its roots. _I wonder how everyone back home is doing,_ he pondered, _I hope they're okay._ Shortly after, he left to explore deeper in the temple.


	2. The Connecting Temples

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wild finds a weird staircase and goes down it. Unfortunately, he gets attacked.
> 
> Also, he prays with a bit of sass and snark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought that the Skyview Temple and Sealed Temple were in the same place for a while. But I k i n d a fixed it.

Wild always ventured off into the unknown, especially alone. Whether or not he had or needed a map to get around was irrelevant, no matter where he was. All he really wanted to do was wander off.

There _was_ a bit of him that worried about how the others would think. None of them seemed like the type to wander off as he did. And Time definitely seemed like the type to tell him off for doing so. But he'd be fine. As long as he had his slate with him, he'd be okay.

The Sealed Temple brought a sense of familiarity with its features. It was as if Wild had seen it before in his world, but he couldn't figure out where. And with his map not working, he had no chance of figuring out this mystery anytime soon. So he took pictures of the giant tree he sat at just moments ago, along with the pedestal where it seemed a sword was supposed to be. He'll bring the photos to Zelda and let her make sense of it.

He found a flight of stairs that faded into darkness. It was covered in moss and dirt. He found and threw a small rock down, listening to its hollow _clicks_ and _clacks_ on the steps until it made… no other noise. A chill ran down his spine. _Must be scared,_ he thought, _or excited!_ He smiled, making his way down until he himself disappeared into the darkness.

The group was listening to Zelda's song and harp. With their bellies full all they did was relax for the time being. They'd head off to this cistern Sky talked about tomorrow. As the melody came to a close, Twilight scanned the Sealed Grounds. It was dark now; time to set up camp. However, they were missing their newbie.

"Where'd Wild go?" He asked. The others didn't move from their spots but searched for his figure.

"The cook?" Groose responded, "He went inside the temple a while ago. Surprised he hadn't come out yet." He pointed at the temple doors.

"Maybe we should go look for him. He could be in danger." Four was already raring to go when he suggested the option. 

Sky exchanged a look with his friends, then turned back to the group. "The temple isn't really big, though. Wherever he is inside the temple, he's only on that floor."

"I… still feel weird leaving him alone for so long." Four turned to Time. "Shouldn't we go find him?"

"Fine, we'll go look." Time pushed himself up from his spot. "Who's coming with me?" Twilight, Warriors, Four, and Sky obliged. Legend, Hyrule, and Wind opted to stay back to set up camp.

Groose and Zelda followed the smaller group inside the temple to join the search. They searched around the tree, around any columns, until Groose found the staircase.

"Oh! That's… new." His exclamation alerted Sky and Zelda, causing them to run right over. "You think your friend went down there?"

Sky twisted his lips into a grimace. "Time, let's hurry, it's one of those."

Time ran up to him, followed by the others. Zelda and Groose stayed upstairs, while the boys went down.

The area was pitch-black. And Wild had no torch. He had a flame blade though, so that was alright. Just to gauge where everything was, he drew a fire arrow with a straight-shooting bow, and let it loose to the other end of the room.

Dear Hylia.

Never in his life had he seen so many keese in the same room. Sure there were swarms during the night, but this was something else… 

Dozens of glowing eyes opened above the explorer. Perhaps he could burn them. But if he shot them with a fire arrow, he could get only a section of them. Bomb them? That would be better but not enough still. He put away his flaming weaponry to not cause any unwanted attention. The keese finally closed their eyes. Should _I use Urbosa?_ He never used Urbosa's Fury indoors. And he wasn't even sure if it would work, but he thought it was worth a shot.

Wild switched to a regular broadsword and got into position for a spin slash. But unfortunately, Urbosa's Fury didn't activate. With no other option (other than to turn back, but what was the fun in that?), Wild pulled out a dark purple elixir and downed the entire bottle.

Now with quiet footsteps, he felt his way around a semicircle and down another flight of stairs. Even without the sound of his footsteps or any light source, the empty noise that came from the new room told Wild that he was now in a bigger area. Below him, high-pitched, grunty, and gravelly tones could be heard. _Must be more_ _monsters, possibly Sky's bokoblins._

With how dark everything in this cave was, and how many monsters there seemed to be, Wild settled for only making his way to the end of the temple. He would have loved to explore and probably loot the place, but he'd have to do that another time.

His steps were careful, counting the seconds down until the elixir wore off. He had no idea if there were any more keese, but the creatures below him were clear. Once he reached a spot where his feet felt a cliff, he once again was forced to think about his options.

Wild could in fact just turn tail and run. The elixir still had a long way to go. He could also try and find another route around the dark. But something told him that if he just jumped, he'd be okay.

And so, he backed up a bit, ran forward, and leaped off the edge with his hands outstretched. The first thing he felt was a rocky wall forcibly knocking the wind out of his chest, causing him to cough. Luckily, his arms were locked onto the floor and he was able to pull himself up. Unluckily, however, whatever monsters that were in the next room heard his scrambling. And they sounded bigger and angrier than the ones previously.

10 glowing yellow eyes affixed onto him. They could see him. _Run for it,_ he told himself. Wild sprinted forward and promptly ran into a wall. The folly rewarded him with a strong swipe from a blade. His shoulder blade felt burned and wet at the same, but he pulled himself together and charged past the gang of towering beasts. Their growling only growing as they reached him quickly.

Wild held his hands in front of him, feeling whatever curved walls, hoping he could find an exit, getting a few more slashes to his back and sides. He was even speared in the abdomen. By then, he finally unsheathed his broadsword and slashed at the monsters a few times. But they did not let up. So he gave up and kept running. There were just too many with too little to work with. He switched back to the flame blade to see his way to the end. And right when he found an exit to the large circular room, he heard it.

"WILD!" A call from the entrance of the temple, followed by the screeching of keese. "WILD!" the caller repeated, "WE'RE COMING TO HELP! WE'LL BE THERE SOON!" Wild paused _, Was that Sky?_ he thought, _Didn't know he could yell that loud_.

His thoughts were interrupted with another stab. He was losing blood fast. He knew he needed to leave as soon as possible. Yet he wanted to alert Sky where he was. So he disarmed himself and made the loudest noise he could make being mute: an ear-piercing, echoing whistle. He bolted outside before he could get hit again.

Wild quickly shot another fire arrow to see where he had to go. All he saw was a bottomless pit and a broken bridge; the fire arrow shot through an open door. He had to make do. With one last whistle to alert his friends, he sprinted and made the blindest, most daring, and longest jump he could muster. And he _made_ it. He was absolutely terrified, with little air in his lungs and bleeding profusely, but he made it.

The bleeding boy left the dark room and was met with moonlight. The beautiful tone of small waterfalls filled his ears. His breathing was heavy as he walked forward to another goddess statue, much smaller than the one in front. Fairies danced around behind the statue, and the water was so clear, one could mistake it for dry land. He looked back at his bloodied broadsword. The liquid was black and viscous, nothing like Wild had seen before.

"Link," a voice called. It was different from Sky's. In fact, it was much more similar to the statues in his Hyrule; a voice where he could remember the statues' words but not its tone. "Hero of the Wild," the disembodied voice spoke from an unknown direction. "Step inside the spring, for its water will heal you."

Wild followed the orders, dipping his feet in first, walking farther into the spring. He sat squarely in front of the statue, the water reaching below the top of his sternum. The wounds he sustained started slowly healing. He closed his eyes, lowered his head, and held his hands, fingers intertwined.

_You're still here, aren't you?_ He prayed silently, _You're at least listening to me. Those monsters were strong. Perhaps coming here on my own was a mistake but I truly thought it wouldn't be this bad. I just wanted to explore._ He opened his eyes temporarily to watch the water. It was stained red around his body but filtered into its clear shine as quickly as his blood dispersed. _I'm scared about heading back. Where is this anyway?_

The voice didn't respond right away. But eventually, it came back. "You are in the Skyview Springs, transported here through the dilapidated and infested Skyview Temple. Those creatures that attacked you have been tainted. Not with the malice you are used to. With something far more powerful. The Sealed Temple's staircase to the dark dungeon was not natural. But it is a phenomenon your comrades have been aware of for two months. But this is your first encounter with it."

_Why am I so late? If it's been two months, I could have joined back then._

"It was simply not the time for you yet. Now, they need you. And this is your first task with them."

_Does this task have a purpose other than making us destroy whatever's in the cistern?_

"A learning experience. A lesson in trust for both you and your comrades."

Another voice was noted by his brain. But he was stuck in the conversation with this divine force. The third-party was pushed out and unheaded.

_With how tonight went, can I even trust myself with making a good decision?_

…

_Hello? Are you still there?_

The voice didn't answer this question. Instead, his mind felt like it was being liquidized. His worries were mixed in with the sweetness of creamy milk and the aroma of heart-shaped radishes. The fleshy textures of voltfruit and hydromelon soothed the last of his aches, and he opened his eyes once more.

The water around Wild was no longer red, and the spring was completely clear. He turned to his right, then to his left, startled to find Sky staring him down. He put his hand over his heart, still recovering from the small scare.

"Wild…" Sky murmured, the look in his eyes told Wild how concerned and upset he was. "I don't know what to say first—"

"I do." Time was here too? Wild turned his upper half to look behind him, where Time stood on the raised platform with his arms crossed. "Why would you leave without telling anyone?" Behind him, Four, Warriors, and Twilight stood. They all looked pretty battered. Wild could see their bloodied clothes and how they leaned onto one another to keep themselves from falling over.

'Come in here first,' he requested. When Time repeated what he asked for, everyone obliged without question. Wild kept still in his sitting position, and Sky remained crouched at his side. Time and Twilight approached him with the most disappointing looks he had ever seen. 'Sorry for running off. I thought it would have been okay since I ran off all the time back in my Hyrule. I didn't expect there to be so many monsters. And for it to be so dark.'

" _Why_ would you ever think it was okay to not _tell_ anybody though?" Twilight stressed. "If you wanted to head in we probably would have let you —with one of us, of course— but at least we'd know!"

Was he supposed to tell people about where he was now? _That_ was news to him. 'Never did before. I always did things on my own. And on a whim.'

Time groaned and put his face in his hand, "I can understand going off on your own sometimes, but Hylia, you had no one to at least know where you were going?"

'A bit of help, in the beginning, pointed in the right direction. Other than that, I was on my own.'

Time really didn't want to discuss the idea of this child being on his complete lonesome, at least not now. He already felt some type of way knowing how young Wind was when he set out on his adventure. "Well, you're not on your own anymore," he stated, "So the least you can do is tell us what you want to do or where you want to go."

Sure. Wild could do that. 'Okay,'

"And one more thing. Please be more careful? We saw so much blood on the floor when we turned on the lights, we thought we were too late."

'Sorry, I promise it was only because I couldn't see.' Time accepted that answer, repeating it to the rest of the group. Everyone lightened up as they healed in the spring.

"You know, when I first saw you, I didn't take you for the praying type," Sky hummed. 

Wild stared at the goddess statue's face. 'During my adventure, I used to pray to Hylia for strength. But that ended a while ago. I prayed to her from time to time after that, but she never talked back. This time I asked for guidance.' The group was quiet for a moment, waiting for something else.

"Well?" Warriors asked, "Did you get it?"

He pondered that for a moment, tilting his head to the right and scratching his scarred neck gently. Then he finally replied. 'I guess, a vague direction is guidance enough for me.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I added this weird transporter shit for plot. Yes, I struggled with this freaking chapter. Yes, I am a bit worried about how this turns out.
> 
> If you see something off with the spelling/grammar, tell me.


	3. Personal Anecdotes through Hearsay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wild apologizes for putting his new friends in danger and accidentally outs himself for having amnesia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter caused me so much grief. But you know what, maybe you guys will like it.

On the way back, the dungeon was lit. The orange glow of burning torches helped Wild see the rooms better. The moblins that had once attacked him laid dead on the floor, black blood pooled around their corpses. Scores of keese were strewn over the surface. There were even times when everyone had to walk over the dead creatures, with the crunching of wings under their boots. Wild was by no means a stranger to monster blood and guts, but this was a massacre.  _ I want to do it too.  _ A morbid desire sure, but Wild couldn't deny it.

Sky showed him the collectibles he obtained from them and offered an ornamental skull to him. In return, Wild gave him one of dinraal's scales.

"A-are you sure you want me to have this?!" Sky stuttered. He didn't necessarily know what it was other than beautiful. "This looks really rare and I can get ornamental skulls from anywhere—" Wild held up his hand.

'I have  _ too  _ many,' he dismissed. 'No use for them other than money now. Think of it as one man's trash being another's treasure.'

"Still looks expensive as all get-out, Wild." Twilight rebutted. "What, are you rich or something?."

All the shorter boy did was give the others a smirk. 'Sure, I've got a lot of treasures.'

They made it to the front of the temple, right where the mossy flight of stairs was. Time stopped them all and turned to Wild. "Look, kid," he addressed. "All of this —these monsters, this darkness— all of what happened here tonight was only a fraction of what we have gone through on this new journey. There are way bigger dungeons and way more powerful monsters than the ones here. And yes, all of them are this blinding. Are you  _ sure _ you can handle something like this?"

Wild huffed and raised his hands. But was interrupted by Warriors. "He was pretty messed up, it seemed. Maybe blindness is too big of a weakness for him, Time."

"But I'm sure he's capable. He's a hero too, right?" Twilight asked, "We're usually together on these tasks, but he ran in alone."

'Promise, I can fight,' was all Wild signed about the inquiry. 'Can we go up now?'

"Fine," Time conceded, "but tomorrow, we'll be testing your abilities; see what you can do."

"And Fi needs to assess you too," Sky added.

"Yes." Time led everyone upstairs.

_ Fi?  _ Whoever this Fi person was, Wild didn't want to ask. They all must have seen him as incompetent from what happened in the temple. He didn't want to look any dumber by asking who Fi was.

Once the group of young adults (and Time) reached the first floor of the Sealed Temple, the staircase they came from vanished. Groose was the first to see them, followed by Zelda, who promptly hugged Sky.

"You all aren't hurt, are you?" She asked over Sky's shoulder. "Your clothes look all torn up, but…"

"We were attacked on the way down there, sure, but the staircase led to the Spring," Sky assured her. "We're all okay." 

"That's good." Zelda let go of him and paced towards Wild, stopping right in front of him and pointing an accusatory finger in his face. Wild leaned back in surprise. "You!" She shouted, "You need to learn not to worry others like that! You scared your friends and got them hurt!"

That wasn't supposed to sting as much as it did. Guilt chipped away at his surprise and sadness started to settle in his stomach. It was hurtful enough. She was right, though. He got his friends hurt again. So in acknowledgment of his mistake, he nodded and gestured for everyone to come outside with him. He would apologize to the best of his abilities, without crying of course.

The three that stayed behind sat next to bedrolls and a campfire some ways off of the main pathway to the goddess statue. They rushed over to see if everyone was okay.

Wild inhaled and raised his hands. Twilight opted to be the one to translate. 'Even knowing only a small portion of what I really went through, I should have paid more attention to what others may have thought or done for me. It was selfish of me to leave without notice, and I feel incredibly guilty knowing you all were put into danger because of me.' He stopped for a moment. His chest hurt but he rubbed his neck to soothe himself. He regained his composure with a huff. 'When I remembered my best friends after their deaths, I was devastated. Not only because of the fact that I had forgotten them in the first place, but because they died hoping I would be okay. I'm so glad that didn't happen again. I'm so glad you're all alive and okay. Thank you. And sorry.'

_ Is this what it feels like to be on the verge of tears?  _ He asked himself, eyes burning,  _ Just hold it in for a bit longer. Everything's gonna be okay. Right? _

In the silence of the group, Wild felt uneasy. Had he said too much? Too little? The wrong thing? It wasn't until Time placed a hand or his shoulder that he was snapped out of his worries.

"You already explained you're reasoning downstairs. So, just don't do it again." He shook the teen lightly with his last request. The others agreed with nods and soft chuckles at Time. He placed his other hand on Wild's open shoulder and turned to Zelda. "Miss, I think you scared him! Don't be too hard on him, he's new to being part of a team." 

After that, everyone sat around the campfire, save for Groose and Zelda, who had received shelter by the water dragon and left for her domain. But before leaving, Zelda requested the group to visit the dragon tomorrow.

"Let me guess," Legend drawled, head propped up with one hand, "You got a whole bed in that thing too?"

Wild couldn't help but wheeze in amusement. A bed? A  _ bed? _ 'No,' was all he could sign until he recovered from his fit. 'No beds, I think they are too big for the slate to carry.'

"Good! I would have been pissed!" Warriors grunted. He moved his legs until they were crossed and pressed his hands against his knees. "So, we got any stories to tell to rock ourselves to sleep?"

Legend scoffed, "Someone please, I can't bear to hear another one of his failed love stories." A sentiment which caused Warriors to leer at the shorter.

_ Love stories? _ Wild wondered if he used to like them. But if these were failures, then maybe he shouldn't ask Warriors for one.  _ What about a story about... _

Wild pulled out his slate and switched to the album. Pictures were flipped past until he found a mountain where a group of gorons was carved into the red cliff face. He waved to gain the attention of the waiting audience. 'I have a story. Take it as hearsay, though, since I don't remember it and it comes mainly from my friend's journal.'

"It'll do," Twilight shrugged, "as long as it's enjoyable."

With that Wild grinned, showing the picture of the cliff face and pointing at the top goron, whose beard was sharp and jutting. When everyone got a good look, he fingerspelled to them 'D-A-R-U-K'.

"Daruk? That's that goron's name?" Wind asked, then went back to studying the picture's features when Wild nodded.

'He told me I was his brother. He always liked to train and eat with me. Said I was strong. Made me feel strong even when I was low.' A somber smile crept. He couldn't help but mourn.

"He's… not one of your friends who died, is he?" Four asked. But the pain on Wild's face was clear. He didn't need to hear the answer to know the truth. "I'm really sorry. I'm sure a lot of us have lost someone in some way or another. So we can relate." Everyone agreed with an affirmative hum.

The storyteller inhaled to pull himself together. 'It's a heart-breaking experience to lose someone dear. But I want to raise spirits.' All eyes were on him, ready for whatever tale he told. 'In Daruk's journal, he wrote about how he was surprised and kind of disgusted that I ate regular Hylian food. Vegetables and meat. So one day he wanted to clear my palette with something he called a rock roast.'

He waited for everyone's response. They all looked mortified. Dear Hylia, their faces. Wild held in his laughter, but in his head and chest, he was cackling.

"A  _ rock _ roast?" Time emphasized. "Like an actual  _ rock _ ? Or was it just called that?"

Wild huffed and tilted his head. He looked at the fire with pursed lips. If he looked at them for any longer he'd lose it. 'Most likely an actual rock. He said I liked it so much I was speechless. But I can't even talk in the first place,' he shrugged.

"You didn't have a voice then either?" Twilight asked.

Wild shook his head. 'I doubt it. Anyways, I don't remember anything about eating a rock. But hearing about my past self, it sounds like something I'd do.'

"Two things," Legend started, "One, how the fuck do you still have your teeth? Two, past self?"

Wild frowned. Was this something he should keep secret? Wanted to keep secret? What if he just told them straight up? But tell them what? How much? He wanted to make them laugh at a dumb story about him probably eating rocks. Instead, they all looked at him questioning his awful word choice. Past self. Shit. How would he explain that without getting asked more questions?  _ Bullshit it. _

He yawned. It was fake, and he was by no means tired, he thinks. But he just wanted to get himself out of whatever the group wanted to ask him. He knew he'd have to tell them eventually. Just not now when he didn't know how to talk to them about serious subjects. 'I'm tired,' he signed. 'Gonna go to sleep. Will stay in reach, but far away.' Wild pointed to the temple wall.

"Oh," Time huffed. "Um. Okay? What about your bedroll?"

'Bed roll?' he signed the individual words with a confused look on his face, 'Don't have one. Fine on the floor. I will be fine.' Wild retreated to the temple but didn't go in. Instead, he laid down behind one of the pillars near its entrance. Perhaps he  _ was  _ tired. Because the moment he closed his eyes, he passed out.

Everyone else was left in awkward silence. 

“Maybe we shouldn’t ask about something like that?” Sky hummed. He wrapped one hand around the other.

“Yeah, maybe,” Legend groaned, sarcasm in his tone. “I literally just repeated what he said. Why would he be surprised about something if he’s the one who brought it up?”

“He must have let it slip,” Time stood up and walked to Epona. He reached in one of the pouches at her side, accidentally waking her up. “Sorry, girl. Since he talks about not remembering so much, he probably suffers from amnesia. Must have been so bad that he’s a completely different person now.” He pulled out a thin blanket. "Here it is."

“Then why not just say it?” Warriors moved over to his bedroll, ready to go to sleep too. “We wouldn’t judge.”

“I wouldn’t know how to tell people about my amnesia if I was him,” defended Sky, who simply laid back. He was already on top of his roll. "Especially since he's new to us, you know? It's only been a day."

"But he's already told us about his ruined Hyrule and all that death!" Legend wrapped his hands behind his head, face up as he stared at the stars.

"He did?" Sky asked.

"Oh yeah, you weren't there. You were off somewhere."

Wind rolled to his side so that he was facing the campfire. "Well, he was talking about his Ganon and how it wrecked everything. And how he messed up, sure but, it was just a part of everything he was talking about."

Time closed the pouch, listening to the boys' talk. “It’s only speculation. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m right. Let’s wait for him to tell us the truth. He probably doesn’t trust us yet.”

Four agreed. “Let's give him time. He’s a friendly guy, but he can be as secretive as us if he wants. He may even tell us tomorrow."

Everyone hummed. Hyrule was the one to bid the others good-night, and they all responded the same.

Everyone but Time was laying in their bedrolls, drifting off to sleep. The eldest brought his blanket to Wild, who was lightly snoring. He draped it over the boy and went to his spot where everyone else was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sky's Zelda is a sweetheart, but she's pretty protective of Sky, you know?


	4. An Eventful Day for Sure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wild's test turns out to be the cistern task.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A whole bunch of stuff happens in the same chapter. I'm sorry if it seems a bit cluttered, I did my best.

Burning fields and crumbling buildings as far as his eyes could see. In his right hand, the Master Sword; in his left, the Princess's. The civilians' screams and guardian lasers were blocked out by his mind shrieking at him.  _ RETREAT! RETREAT! _ Under a red-cloaked sky.

His legs could take him far —they always could. And if it meant the princess's protection, he'd run himself into the ground. Though in a long white dress she couldn't move as well, she managed to match her speed with his, somehow. Innocent screams for husbands, wives, children, parents.  _ Block them out. _ He pleaded with himself.  _ Only her. Only the princess needs to be saved right now. Protect her. _ He kept running until a guardian blocked his path.  _ With your life. _

Red light from a blue eye. A target on his chest. No shield. All he could do was push her behind him. The blast was enough to tear through his tunic and destroy his skin. A searing, burning pain, he'll have to push through. His opening was now. He struck it down as quickly as possible. With the bright blue glow of his sword, the guardian stalker was destroyed in swift strikes. His legs were shaking, but he could stand.

_ Keep going! Do not look back! Help her! _ His grip on her hand tightened. They continued. On his left, the silhouette of Vah Ruta lost its blue glow, and to his horror, it faded to an angry red. The divine beast left its post, but he had to keep going.  _ Retreat! The princess can not fall! _

Nothing should stop them. Nothing should keep them from running. As long as she was in danger, he would need to protect her. As he was told, he should follow his duty to the end.

So it frightened him when his heels dug themselves in the dirt. He was horrified when the shrieking of a little girl burst into his mind. Mortified at his attention switching to a burning house with a guardian climbing over it. Through the debris, the girl was crying desperately, with the guardian's aim locking onto her.  _ WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! _ He couldn't help it. He was terrified.

" _ Link!" _ Please, let that be the princess.

The girl was crying for help.

" _ Link! Please!" _ With all his heart, please, Hylia, let that not be the girl.

He screwed his eyes shut and turned around.  _ Retreat. Go. _ He continued. But his ears were now listening behind him. A confirming beep. A cut-off scream. A deafening explosion.

Wild yanked himself up until he was sitting. He was wide-eyed and panting heavily. His head spun from the sudden movement and his heart felt no better. The abrupt awakening was met with a thumping chest and skull. And he was left trying to calm himself.

Shivering, he pressed his hand against his face.  _ Breathe, Link _ , He coaxed himself,  _ It's just a bad dream. You can deal with it. It's not the first. _ Deep in his heart, he hoped it was only a dream and not a memory.

One last shaking sigh and he was fine —at least for now. It was one of those few times he was glad to be mute; he was sure if his vocal cords worked, he would have screamed and woken up everyone else.  _ Right. _ He remembered.  _ This is the Sealed Grounds. You're not even home. _

Getting up was a hassle. Aching shoulders and spine. Obviously, sleeping on the cold stone floor wasn't the best idea. A sore neck and a bad mood were his rewards for carelessness. Wild shrugged it off.  _ Nothing a good stretch couldn't fix _ . To his pleasure, it seemed someone was nice enough to give him a blanket. That was sweet of them.

Wild felt awful. Even his limbs were throbbing. The sun was just beginning to show itself and everyone else was asleep. Or he thought everyone was. He dragged himself away from his place behind the pillars, halfway to the camp. With a yawn, Wild stopped and started with stretching his arms.

Legend was usually up by dawn but opted to stay in his bedroll until someone else was awake. So when he saw Wild emerge from his sleeping spot, he was just about ready to get up himself. The guy looked like a mess. Bedhead, pallor, eye bags, that's what he got for sleeping the way he did. A little ways away from him, the newbie pulled his left arm over his chest, locking its position with his right, then vice versa. Legend finally pulled himself out of bed.

"Well don't you look like shit?" Legend muttered, walking up to Wild. Wild paused his stretching for a moment to acknowledge him but started twisting his upper body quickly after. Legend started scanning the walls, finding an exit in the shape of an open tunnel. "I'm not  _ usually _ one to look around or anything, but this place looks pretty contained, don't you think? Maybe we could explore outside this place?"

Legend got Wild's attention with the word 'explore'. His legs could walk off the last slithers of sleep and pain anyway. Wild gave the red-clad boy a thumbs up. Legend left to Time's side, shaking him awake. Wild was left to his thoughts.

_ What kind of wildlife is here? Are the mushrooms edible? What about animals other than fish? I don't see much here, except for those butterflies… _ he took in the sight of butterflies at the huge goddess statue’s base.  _ Butterflies! _ He never noticed them before and ran to them so he could take a picture of their pretty blue wings. They looked like a larger version of winterwings. Maybe an ancestor species?

"Hey, come on, we have half an hour to see what's going on." Wild left without taking any of the butterflies but figured that the picture was immediately saved to the compendium. He'd look at it later. He and Legend left through the tunnel.

...

For such a big area, and for being woods, the area was quite closed-off. There was a mixture of trees and shrubs, albeit in a low concentration. Not too many plants, but the mushroom variety was plentiful. And the woods were centered by a giant oak tree.

Wild walked up the pond next to the oak tree. The fish had such colorful scales. Some were pink, green, and gold; others were teal and cerulean. The water was still enough for the slate to capture a good picture of them.  _ Healing and heat resistance, huh? _ He stepped in, the water barely reaching his knees. Sure, his socks and trousers were wet, but it was okay. He'd dry off once he caught a few of each type of fish.

Legend watched him from afar, an incredulous look on his face. "This guy…" he grumbled. But he stayed where he was, eyeing Wild crouching over the pond. From where he was standing, Legend could make out the newbie's face: furrowed brows, straight lips, intense gaze. And without warning, he snatched two glistening fish out of the water. Then three, then four, and continued until he had ten. All of the fish were tossed on the grass. When Wild finally climbed out of the pond and took off his soaking shoes and socks, Legend saw it as an opportunity to talk to him again.

"Quite a good catch," he called. Wild looked up at him and smiled. He rang out his socks and sat them on his discarded shoes. Legend peaked at his game while he asked, "Is this for breakfast or something?" To which Wild shook his head. He let the slate take all of the fish, each one disappeared in strips of glowing teal.

Wild wanted to make rice balls with the fish caught yesterday. It was amazing. Those Twilight came back with were mighty carps! He'd have to write that down somewhere, as to not forget it. The fact that this species of fish hadn't truly evolved over however long… oh dear; Wild could only imagine the level of excitement Zelda would have.

Usually, he kept the slate's adventure log feature exclusive to important events or tasks. But perhaps this discovery could go into the "side-quests" category.

Wild's mind was split between typing in the entry and thinking about what to add to the rice balls he'd make for the morning.  _ I wonder if I have some extra Hyrule herbs. I could chop those up and add them in. I kinda like the crunchy texture. No, maybe I should ask everyone else. not everyone may have my ta— _

"Wild, behind you!"

Still pulling himself out of his musings, Wild ducked on instinct, barely missing his head getting chopped off by a bokoblin. A royal broadsword would do the trick. He turned and stood up, trying to find his companion as he armed himself with his chosen weapon and shield. Legend had already left his side, now fighting a moblin three times his size.

Wild parried another attack from his own enemy, looking up every now and then when he swiped at its openings. Only four blue bokoblins and that one moblin they needed to worry about. The latter would be the most trouble. But he was being surrounded now.  _ Urbosa, please don't activate just yet. _ He readied himself, watching the bokoblins raise their blades. Right as they attacked Wild spun, slashing all of them. Two died, two were still alive. But he prioritized Legend's situation and bolted to his side. 

However, he wouldn't let the remaining bokoblins go alive. He activated the round bomb rune and tossed it over his head. Once he knew he was far enough away, he detonated it. Now all of the smaller monsters were dead. All that remained was the moblin.

Which Legend seemed to be handling well on his own. The hulking monster was near death already. But that arm was powerful. It shoved Legend to the ground, ready to kill the much shorter boy with its spear hoisted. Wild threw his broadsword at the moblin, embedding half the blade into its chest. The hilt and guard, however, broke off and flew somewhere behind the now roaring monster.  _ Oh, well _ . Legend thanked him and got back to his feet, finishing the moblin with a final deep stab.

Legend recollected himself while he watched Wild loot the fallen monsters' bodies. "Hylia, you're just as bad as Sky," he groaned. " _ And _ Wind!" But Wild paid no mind. Legend mused to himself that he was no better, but wouldn't let Wild hear of that if he could help it.

Wild pocketed whatever guts and horns he could find and considered the moblin spear and bokoblin machete. He decided to leave the spear and replace his broken broadsword with the machete.  _ A one-hander for a one-hander, _ he thought. 

"You done? Let's get back now. Hurry and get your shoes on. I'm sure you woke everyone up with that damn bomb."

…

Sure enough, everyone  _ was _ awake. Whether it was due to Wild or not, it didn't matter. The pot was set up and Wild offered to cook again. No objections were given.

Legend started explaining what happened when breakfast was ready, "We were ambushed, but the only real threat was a single moblin. I'm surprised there weren't more."

"It's probably the water dragon's doing. She tries to keep the lot of them out of the main woods, some of them still get through though." Sky said, staring at the exit while he ate.

"You didn't take them all on your own, did you?" Twilight asked Legend.

"You saying I can't?" Legend shifted in his spot. He finished with his rice balls and pointed at Wild. "No, I didn't. This fucker thinks it's fine to throw weapons and bombs at the enemy until they're dead."

'You are exaggerating!' Wild almost dropped his food out of his lap. 'I used a sword for most of the fight. I threw 1 bomb to kill off bokoblins that were half dead, and I threw my sword to stun the moblin attacking Legend.'

Once his signing was fully translated, Legend rebutted. "He broke his sword with that toss. Show 'em what you replaced it with." On cue, Wild raised his new machete with his right hand and used his left hand to stuff the rest of the rice ball in his mouth. "I'm giving him shit, but he did help me."

Wild lowered the blade back to his side and wiped his hands. 'I am going to guess that that wasn't the test you guys were talking about.'

Twilight chuckled. "No, it's not. We can start with it now if you want."

'Sure.' Wild stood up and dusted himself off. He walked onto the path leading to the goddess statue. Everyone else followed.

"Actually, I think we should let Fi look at him first," Time suggested. "Since it's been a while, maybe we should jump right into that,  _ then _ test him." So Wild was finally going to meet this Fi person? Were they a person? Or was it a thing?

Sky nodded, unsheathing the Master Sword. Its glow was mesmerizing. Its wielder stared at Wild in amusement. "You look lost." He giggled. But Wild only looked away, embarrassed. "It's okay. No one knew who Fi was until I told them about her. And they only met her when she suggested assessments of everyone. That was… a month ago? Fi is the spirit inside the sword."

With a relieved sigh, Wild had a question, now feeling a bit less stupid. He started signing. Time would translate. "He's asking what the assessment is for." He waved the question off, however. "It's just some general knowledge, helps us know how you work, you know? And how to deal with you. Most of us have used the Master Sword, so Fi knows our strengths and weaknesses. Except for Hyrule and Four, it seems."

"Even then, it was difficult with me," Legend added.

"It's okay if she doesn't come out right away," Sky assured. He then held the glowing sword out to Wild. But the moment it was placed into the latter's hands, the light dimmed.

Everyone was quiet, half waiting, half concerned. Wild couldn't lie, he was sort of expecting the sword to do this. More often than not, the Master Sword stayed this way than in its lustrous blue glow; at least, that was how it stayed in his hands. Even after his time with the Trial of the Sword, once Ganon was defeated, it dimmed again and the Princess couldn't hear its voice anymore.

Wild gave a half-hearted smile and shrugged at Sky, who was staring intently at the sword and not at the boy holding it. But that's when the blade flashed. A  _ blipping _ noise came from it. And a voice similar to the one Wild heard from goddess statues' came forth. " _ Return _ ," it commanded. Such a vague order, but perhaps Wild understood correctly? He handed it back to Sky. The blade's glow shined once more, and a brighter flash flickered.

He blinked, and there she was. Back facing him, a metallic blue and velvet purple figure levitated in between Wild and everyone else. "I apologize, Master," a feminine and mechanical voice, "The Hero of the Wild is from a time millennia after any of your own. My energy has dwindled since then."

So, not all of the Master Sword's current issues are because of him? It was a small comfort, but now he worried about the legendary sword's future.  _ Enough of that. Think of what's going on with the lady. _ Wild noticed this strange metallic woman turn around, staring at him.

"That's quite alright, Fi. Like we told him, it's not the first time we had trouble." Sky seemed fine with her explanation. Maybe it was best to not worry too much.

"Processing…" Fi held Wild's gaze for a long minute. "Complete. Link, Hero of the Wild. As his title suggests, his journey mainly took place in the vast wilderness after the destruction of Hyrule kingdom." He already got the feeling he wasn't going to like the rest of this 'assessment'. "His way of survival has consisted of very barbaric methods, though with some civilized qualities. The Hero of the Wild is naturally reckless and lacks self-preservation skills. He has also exhibited childish tendencies." Wild's face was beet red. Some of the heroes —namely Legend, Warriors, and Wind— were outwardly laughing at this information. Time and Twilight tried their best, but even with a hand over their mouth or pursed lips, their raised cheeks gave away the entertainment they were feeling.  _ Damn this. But she's right… I don't think I'm childish, though. _

Time cleared his throat. "Strengths, Fi? I'm sure Wild's adventure has taught him a few things?"

"Yes, the Hero of the Wild can adapt to extreme internal and external conditions and can utilize many different types of weapons. He also has a proficiency for making elixirs, if given the right materials."

"Elixirs? Like Grandma's soup elixir?" Wind asked.

"More similar to potions. He is also extremely powerful."

"We're _all_ powerful," Warriors rested his hands on his hips, "What do you mean by that?"

Wild thought about what he could do. Were they going to test his skills after this? What weapons were they going to make him use? He had plenty, but maybe they'd make him stick to a one-handed sword. Either way, he was ready for anything.

"The best way to find out his fighting prowess is by taking him to the water dragon. There, you all will be sent to the cistern and on your next task."  _ Oh. _ Fi moved so she could look at both Wild and the others without constantly turning her whole person every moment. "Are there any other questions?"

"A couple, actually," Time confirmed.

"Ask all of your questions, and I shall answer accordingly."

_ She wouldn't tell any secrets of mine, would she? _

"By extreme external and internal conditions, what do you mean? Is there any reason for his apparent recklessness?" Time asked. One question seemed understandable, the other felt personal. Though Wild couldn't answer the question himself even if he tried.

"And what about the types of elixirs he can make?" Wind's question was the easiest to answer. Wild smiled at him.

"In regards to extreme external conditions. I am referring to situations you all may be familiar with: such as a volcano or icy mountain. However, most of the Hero of the Wild's methods in dealing with unlivable temperatures consist of wearing armor made for such conditions or making food and elixirs for the same effect. Depending on the ingredients, he can also make such items for other purposes. An example would be the meal he made for you all this morning. Currently, you are all experiencing a temporary bout of increased strength."

The group was pleasantly surprised by this information. Time looked at his arms, then at Wild with a grin.

"To be exact, a thirty percent increase for ten minutes. As for his reckless behavior, I can only gather that this trait is simply his nature."

"Oh! One more thing!" Wild felt like Time was going to pry. "This is quite personal, I understand if you, Fi, can't answer. Or if you, Wild, don't  _ want _ to answer. But this is regarding yesterday's conversation."  _ Fuck. _ "You don't have to tell us, but we want to know what exactly you meant by 'your past self'."

Wild and Fi looked at each other. It was more so Fi waiting for the go-ahead to answer and Wild asking himself if he should give that information.  _ Fine _ , he conceded,  _ if it's just this one piece, if they're satisfied with knowing just this, it's better to get it over with now than later. _ He nodded to Fi.

"The Hero of the Wild suffers from amnesia. He can not remember most of his former life. However, key memories have been recovered." Wild stared at his feet as Fi finished explaining. "It is time to continue your journey. The meal's effect will wear off soon." She disappeared back into the sword.

"Well…" Warriors inhaled, "Guess that's our cue."

"I guess you were right." Twilight nudged Time. Time approached Wild and patted his shoulder.

"Sorry for putting you on the spot like that. You didn't have to say."

Wild chuckled noiselessly. 'I'm not mad at you. You all should at least know that. I just didn't know how to put it.'

"I understand. Let's go. It's time to head out."

With that, the nine left Epona and the campsite.

  
  


The entrance to the ancient cistern was similar to that of the Sealed Temple's staircase: mossy, dusty, old, dark. Wild steeled himself.  _ Second try _ . They all walked into the void.

Wild supposed some of them had torches. The moment they reached their destination, they lit up these orange lights.

"Ignite any torch you find," Wild heard Time whisper. "Remember to split up in pairs. Wild? Where are you?"

Wild switched to his flame blade. Its light illuminated the space between him and Time. He heard the others' (wet) footsteps get a little quieter as they all split up to search.

"That's a nice sword," Time would have touched it if it weren't for the burning heat that radiated off of it. "Stay with Twilight and me for now."

With nine people the search for unlit torches took only five minutes. The room was alight and they were locked in this room.

"Any of this look familiar to you, Sky?" Time asked. He pulled out his biggoron sword, everyone else followed suit.

"No not at all," Sky denied. "Must be another fabricated dungeon." The room they were in had two doorways; the door they came through, which was locked with metal bars, and a door that needed a small key. The floor was metal and covered in ankle-high water. Above them, the roof was… chittering? There was some strange noise coming from above. "Skulltulas."

"Should we burn them down?" Wind asked. "I don't wanna waste my magic on fire arrows." Wild looked up to see a lot of spiders. There were a lot of small ones and only a few big ones. They all looked creepy though. He snapped a photo of both the small and big ones.

"We'll have too if we want to progress," Time brought out his bow.

'Do you all need magic for fire arrows?' Wild asked.

"Yes, or we can just put our arrows to the fire to get the same effect. Only Wind and I have magic arrows though. Skulltulas aren't strong, so we can just shoot a few arrows and they'd be as good as dead."

Twilight and Sky offered to use their slingshots but were shot down when Time asked if the ammo could reach the skulltulas.

Wild unhooked his forest dweller bow. He switched his regular arrows to fire arrows. When he let one loose it split into three, burning whatever was on the ceiling keeping the skulltulas up —most likely ivy. The ceiling was set ablaze and the spider-like creatures dropped from their spots. The smaller ones would die either from the flames or from the fall, but the bigger ones were alive and well. The others took care of them, Wild watched them get the skulltulas' attention and then stab their underbellies. He assumed that their skull-like tops must have been shells.

The last one was killed by Wind and dropped a key. While the door was being unlocked, Time looked at Wild's bow.

"Didn't know you had fire arrows too."

'My Hyrule just sells them. I don't use magic, they come like this.' Wild put his bow back.

"What about you splitting one arrow into three? You wanna explain that?"

The boy grinned at his elder, winked, and walked into the next room. Time sighed and followed.

Most of the rooms that followed were filled with monsters. Luckily, all they had to do was either avoid them or find one that had a key and take it. That didn't stop the creatures from being vicious. As much as nine men and boys could tear through monsters, monsters could easily tear through them with the same amount of force. The lizalfos, Wild believed, were the most difficult to deal with. But they succeeded.

By the second to last room, everyone was bloodied and tired. It was empty. The door they came out of was raised above the main floor. A flight of stairs on either side of the door's platform. They were still in ankle-deep water and darkness. The only place to go was downstairs. No monsters were present while they all went to light any torches they could find. Wild put his flame blade up to a pedestal in the center of the room. There was some sort of writing on its surface.

Sky looked over his shoulder and read aloud. "Above the exit sit open eyes when the room is set alight. Freeze them within a second to advance to your final fight."

In front was the mentioned exit. A threshold blocked by thick brambles and spider webs. Above it was the eyes, six of them. Now that the room was glowing orange, the eyes opened up to show their pupils. Wild climbed back up the stairs.

"Freeze them?" Wind groaned. Time shot one of the eyes with an ice arrow. One of the brambles shriveled back, pulling a piece of the web. But after a second passed, the bramble entangled itself with the others again. The frozen eye thawed. "How are we gonna shoot all of them in under one second? How? I'm frickin' exhausted."

"We'll just have to manage," Time said. "Wild probably has ice arrows too, so I'm sure we can shoot two arrows each in that time." He looked around. "Where'd he go anyway?"

Time was answered by a short whistle. Everyone looked at the place they came from to see Wild standing there with a new bow and ice arrows.

"He's way ahead of you," Twilight chuckled. But gasped as Wild jumped off the ledge. He didn't have enough time to react to the boy aiming at and shooting the eyes one-by-one rapidly. How he was able to not only aim and loose the arrows but nock and draw them too in such little time baffled Twilight. Nonetheless, all the eyes were frozen and the brambles crumpled back.

Wild landed feet first onto the main floor. "How the hell did you manage that?!" Legend yelled. But Wild paid no mind. He just left towards the exit.

…

That threshold was the pathway to a tunnel. The water was moving, slowly but surely, in the direction the group was heading. While they moved, the men and boys healed themselves with whatever potions were on them. The tunnel opened up into a surprisingly bright room. They stayed inside the tunnel, not stepping foot on the lower floor. But the water flowed out.

“I don’t know this place,” Sky denied. “We’re still in the dungeon.”

Warriors and Wild stuck their heads out and looked at the ceiling. A gigantic skulltula-like spider sat in wait over a light source. Warriors studied their soon-to-be arena. The water was much higher, possibly knee-height. There were platforms. The only way to get up to them, however, were vines hanging from them.

Wild tapped Warriors to bring his attention back to the spider. Its shell was thick and covered most of its body, possibly its underbelly too. But its legs were unprotected. Instead, the legs showed off very colorful and distinct patterns. It sat upside-down on a web, whitish-grey sacs interwoven in it. Wild didn’t know what they were, but Warriors looked horrified.

He pulled Wild back in and turned to the others. “We’ve got to be careful. That spider’s got egg sacs up there, and it’s venomous.” Time and Twilight grimaced. “We’ll try our best to keep the sacs from falling, but we’re definitely at a disadvantage with the amount of water.”

“And what do we do if the sacs fall?” Four asked, “ And what about the spider’s venom?”

“Hopefully whatever children come out of the broken sacs will drown with how high the water is. But we’ll have to move to those platforms over there. As for the spider’s venom, we just have to avoid its fangs… unless it spits too.”

Wild was listening, but he had never seen a spider until now. He hoped he’d be able to take a good picture of it before it died. He peaked at the giant spider again, squinting at the light behind the spider.  _ Is that… sunlight? _ He could only hope, but this could be perfect if a bit dangerous. He turned to the group and raised his hands. ‘If the sacs fall, I’ll give a loud whistle. Whatever you do, get out of the water.’

Legend squinted. “What are you planning?”

‘Something that might not work.’

“Is there anything else you want to tell us?” Time asked.

‘If I give a short whistle, you only have to back up.’

“Uh, okay. Is everyone ready?” Warriors steeled himself. By everyone’s confirmation, he pushed himself out of the tunnel. Now with all nine heroes in the arena, the spider fell. Everyone split up while the spider screeched.

Wild pulled out his most powerful weapon: a savage lynel sword. To his utter delight, the light above was in fact sunlight. The ceiling was open.  _ Perfect _ .

“Immobilize it!” Warriors ordered, “Cut off its legs!”

_ Like a stalker? _ He ran up to the arachnid’s closest leg and started hacking at its coxa. Hyrule was doing the same thing on another leg. The spider’s sights locked onto the latter. With a screech, it tried to bite down on him. But Hyrule got away at the last second. Wild took the opportunity to roll a bomb underneath the spider.

A short whistle. Everyone backed up so Wild could detonate the bomb. The spider's shell started to crack, enraging it. It started splashing around, stomping, and causing tremors. Wild was worried about the sacs, seeing them shaking with each pound. He didn't realize that the spider was spinning around spitting out its venom. So some got on his face.  _ Shit, FUCK. _ It burned, but Wild's felt worse. He was more worried about any other effects. He wiped the skin around his eyes and ran away.

The spider crawled up the wall, spitting at the heroes. The water around them was also hit, so the venom mixed and spread with it.

"Get it down!" Wild heard, and he'd oblige. Another short whistle. But instead of the runes, a hissing bomb arrow was fired at the monster. To everyone's horror, not only did the spider come down with a shockwave, but the sacs broke free. "Fuck!"

Wild inhaled. Exhaled through a piercing flat whistle.

"Out of the water!" Time yelled.

The sacs fell and crashed against the drowned floor. Hundreds upon hundreds of baby spiders spilled forth. Wild stood crouched in his spot, right arm stretched, weapon pointed behind him. No one else was in the water.  _ Alright, Urbosa. Please let this work. _ The circumference was set, the familiar image of Urbosa stood in front of him, proud and ready to strike. The spider and its babies charged to the only person standing in the water.

With a sharp spin, lightning blasted through the ceiling's opening. The heroes were deafened, the water was electrified. Volts of lethal electricity filled the bodies of the baby spiders, the mother, and Wild. Once the electricity lightened up, Wild used the last of his energy to gesture his allies to attack. He lost consciousness right after.

…

…

"Wild." His body felt wet and heavy. Fabric stuck to him. Did he go swimming?

"Wild, wake up." His mind buzzed. His teeth felt numb. "Wake up."

"Is he dead?"

"No!"

He turned his head and slowly opened his eyes. The smell of blood was in the air. He let his eyes close again. "Hey, hey! No! Get up!" Someone tapped his cheek. Wild would have groaned if he had working vocal cords. He looked at who was patting him. Warriors was holding his head up. He was laying on a dry floor.  _ Didn't I fall in the water? _ "There you go, bud! You know what happened?"

Wild blinked and looked around. The faces he saw were worried, relieved, or disappointed. Raising his hands was a chore. 'Is the spider dead?'

"We killed it after you passed out," Wind piped up, "The babies died from that lightning you summoned. That was so cool by the way! How'd you do it?"

He didn't answer, just sighed and close his eyes. He felt weak still. 'Sit me up, please,' he signed.

Warriors sat him against a wall and Wild started messing with his slate again. He pressed something and a pinkish-red elixir. He drank it all and jumped up, completely reinvigorated. 'You're all okay too, right? Need any elixirs?'

"No," Time dismissed, "We fixed ourselves up while trying to wake you."

'I hope I didn't cause any trouble.' Wild put his hands on his hips and looked down. They were on one of the ivy platforms. The giant spider was curled in on itself with a few legs missing. The floor was covered with the newborn spiders. And the water was murky from whatever blood and venom were mixed into it.

"You're fine, let's just go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5 should be done soon.


	5. Fi's Addendum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fi had just a bit more to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short bonus for you all.

The heroes came back to the campsite after speaking with the water dragon. Wild took pictures of Groose and Sky's Zelda to show his own princess. Even after that, Wild stayed behind in the woods to pick mushrooms and look at the kikwis. Sky and Warriors promised to set up the pot for him to cook again.

"The pot should be hot by the time he comes back," Warriors said. He settled down at the newly kindled flame.

"Do you think he's fine with being an unofficial cook for us?" Sky asked, making sure the pot was sound.

Legend sat down by the fire, Four and Wind followed. "It looks like he  _ wants _ to be."

"I mean we can always ask," Four leaned back in to watch the sky turn from orange to dark blue. "I don't see why someone would be so good at something but still hate it, though."

Sky caught a flash out of the corner of his eye. Fi appeared from the Master Sword once again. "Oh!" The eight were already attentive to her.

"Master, I must inform you that I intentionally left out details from the Hero of the Wild's assessment this morning."

"You can call him Wild. And why did you leave anything out?" Time asked.

"Renaming… complete. Due to Wild's amnesia, the information I found pertinent to explaining his adaptability would have possibly been harmful to his mental state. Since Wild is absent from the vicinity, I find this the earliest appropriate time to relay the rest of my assessment."

"By all means."

"In regards to his adaptability to extreme internal conditions, Wild's person has been severely damaged on several occasions. Despite how lethal his wounds may be at the time —unless he is struck with electricity, such as your battle today— he is able to function properly as if he is under normal conditions. His sturdiness is most likely due to training he has received before his first battle with the Calamity. Such training encouraged and amplified Wild's lack of self-preservation, exchanging any care for his person for strength and skill. There is an eighty-five percent chance that even though he has forgotten the specifics of this training, Wild still practices these methods in a more barbaric way today."

It wasn't what anyone was expecting. But Time could understand why Fi would wait to tell everyone this. "Is there anything else?" He asked; though he wasn't sure he wanted the answer.

Fi nodded, "If Wild freezes and does not respond to outside stimulus, do not be alarmed. This is an occurrence that indicates that he is recovering a memory."

Fi went back into the sword. Seconds later, Wild came in holding several different types of mushrooms with a wide grin on his face. He placed them near the fire and went on signing about how he was going to make meat & mushroom soup, and how ironshrooms were his favorite to cook. He lamented about how he didn't have enough pumpkins to make pumpkin soup instead and how the wasp nest he found didn't have the same effects as courser bee honey. It wasn't until he finished his appraisal of the discoverers of rock salt (no matter how plentiful it may be) that he actually looked at his new friends' faces.

'What happened?' Wild signed, 'Looks like you all saw a ghost.'

"No," Twilight assured, "It's nothing. Time was just... telling us something pretty scary."

"Yeah…" Time groaned, "I was talking to them about my encounters with redeads."

Wind covered his ears.

'Really? What are they like? Can you show me one if we get to your Hyrule?' Twilight begrudgingly translated his sign.

"Nooo!!!" Wind pushed his head behind his knees and kept his ears covered.

"Sorry, Wild. I am  _ not _ dealing with those things again."

Wild made the face and the sigh to show his disappointment, but no noise came out of him. He shifted back to his excitement over his next meal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for following my series so far. Drink water, love you.


End file.
